


Her Guardian

by She_Who_Walks_Unseen



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bittybones, Guardian Bitty, Hurt/Comfort, Mama Cry - Freeform, Mentions of a child getting hurt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-12
Updated: 2016-06-12
Packaged: 2018-07-14 12:51:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,755
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7172513
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/She_Who_Walks_Unseen/pseuds/She_Who_Walks_Unseen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>She was broken. He was sharp. She was sweet. He was crude. She needed him. She needed someone to be there and keep those who had hurt her away. He was scary, he could protect her. Instead of soft and gentle, she chose mean and spiteful. She needed a companion. Someone to be there and keep her safe. To help her heal. To help her get better. She needed a friend. No one understood it. He questioned it. She simply smiled. He was her companion. He was her friend. He was her guardian. He would protect her. Of this, she was certain.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Her Guardian

She was only seven years old.

She shouldn't have been left alone.

They blamed the babysitter. She was supposed to have been watching. She was supposed to have locked up and sent her to bed. Instead, she had left doors unlocked and remained focused on her phone. She claimed she had done her job, that everything had been locked up and safe. No one believed her.  It had been her fault. Bruised skin, fractured bones. It had been her fault.

The child had said it was okay. She wasn't upset. Her grandparents disagreed. They were furious. They had thought their granddaughter would be safe, and now she was sitting in a hospital bed, beaten and broken after wandering into a teenage burglar. He had been arrested and locked away far from the little girl. When told this, the child had simply asked why he was stealing as stealing was wrong. It made people cry. They simply answered that some people were just bad and they made bad choices. She had frowned, but accepted the answer as only a child could.

It had been the nurses' idea.

The little girl would be stuck within the hospital for several days for safe measures and when she went home she would once again be left with only her grandparents or an occasional babysitter to keep her company. What better way for a child to heal, with a little companion to stay with her? The grandparents would make sure the little bitty was taken care of naturally, but all the love and care would be for the little girl alone. When she was told, the child had been confused as she had never seen a bitty before though had heard about them from her classmates whose elder siblings or family members had adopted one of their own. She knew bitty's to be tiny little skeletons or itsy bitsy flames that loved and played and adored their mommies and daddies. So, would she be a mommy now? They weren't pets or baby dolls, she knew that. But could she be one? She'd rather be a sister. She'd always wanted a brother or sister. When she asked the nurses smiled and told her that they were sure the bitty's wouldn't mind a sister and would love her all the same.

It had taken a bit of thought...

But with a cheerful grin she asked if they would love her even if she was broken.

One of the nurses began to cry. Another gave her a tender hug, careful of her tiny bruised ribs. They told her she would be loved no matter how many band-aids she had. She had smiled all the more and eagerly asked when she could meet her new friend, her new sibling. Her grandparents told her they would take her in the morning once she was able to go home. While she rested, they'd get everything ready for her and her new companion. They only asked that she be polite and be gentle as they were as fragile as she was, even more so in truth. With determination, the little girl had nodded as firm as she could and crossed her heart. She would be on her best behavior and would be as careful with the bitty's as her grandma was with the baby birds they had once found in the garden. She would be respectful. She would be kind. The love you are given is equal to the love you give. So if she showed how much she loved the little bitty's, then she hoped that they would love her too.

The next morning she had nearly bounced out of her hospital bed despite the protests of her grandparents and the sharp pains that had caused her to cry when she jostled her chest and casted arm. But even that would not deter her. She would find her perfect companion, her perfect little bitty, and they would be friends forever. She just knew it.

When they reached the adoption center she had smiled at the kind mother to all the bitty's, waving her tiny hand even as she partially hid behind her grandfather. He explained what had happened. The break in. The attack. The hospital. He explained that he and his wife would make sure the bitty received proper care, and that their granddaughter would give the bitty all the love it could ever want. Stepping up the kind mother, the little girl nodded just as she had in the hospital. Crossing her heart that she would be the best sister she could be and do whatever she had to so that her new friend was happy. Even if she was broken.

The mother had smiled and nodded, gingerly waving her close and telling her the bitty's would be so happy to see her. They would love her whether or not she was 'broken', and seeing her smile was all they could ever want. Eagerly, the child followed after her and offered a please and thank you when asked if she would like help into the pen. Immediately, many little eyes were focused on the child and many little tears began to form. The girl didn't know just how broken she really was. With a little white cast covered in doodles from the nurses, a split lip, and a massive bruise along the curve of her eye and cheek that was speckled in purple and a sickly yellow. In her excitement she bounced though it would cause her to wince and whimper from the sharp aches caused by her ribs even as her smile held firm.

Folding her legs down, the child offered a tiny wave and said hello. The mother looked to her children and told them that the little girl was here to find a new friend, someone to love her and help her get better after she had been hurt by a very bad person. Almost immediately, the child was swarmed in tiny bones and sparks, many of them offering her tender kisses and hugs to help her feel better. She giggled, cupping some to her cheeks while others she pressed her tiny lips to upon their heads. They were all so tiny to her elders but to her, they were the perfect size.

There were so many bittys.

Some were short. Some were tall. Some had fur. Some were warm. Each of them offered her smiles and asked if she was okay. She told them she was broken, but that it was okay, she would get better soon. She said she was sorry that whomever she chose would have a broken sister, but that she would make up for it with all the hugs and kisses they wanted. Even some of the harsher bitty's softened at her words, at least to the point that they didn't glare at her and simply left her be with the kinder bitty's. She was broken enough.

While the adults wondered just what bitty she would choose - perhaps a Softie? Or maybe a Papy? - one taller bitty caught her eye. Gently helping those that were perched on her down to the floor, she did her best to crawl over to a play tower that was set up for the bitty's amusement. Perched atop the highest tower was a bitty dressed in red and black. His long cape and spikes making him stand out from the others more than anything. Her head tilted as the bitty offered her a brief glance before scoffing and looking away. She wasn't worth his time.

She only smiled.

'Who are you?'

She asked. He ignored her and she simply giggled at his refusal to answer. He was so different than the others. Sharper, meaner, and scarier.

'My name's Charlie.'

He scoffed again, making a sharp remark on how that was a boy's name. She only nodded as if in agreement in her own way. 'Mommy had wanted a boy. But she got me instead.' He hesitated, glancing her way briefly even as she held her smile. The eye circled by her bruise was tinted red from busted veins. She was so broken.

Watching him for a long moment she suddenly bobbed her head as if confirming something with herself and turned away, looking to her grandparents and the mother.

'I choose him.'

One tiny finger pointed to the sharp and dark bitty, earning a look of surprise from every soul present. Including a sudden exclamation of confusion as the spiked bitty sat up shock and nearly fell from the tower. Her grandmother immediately voiced her concern, not understanding why her tiny broken granddaughter would want such a mean and rude little bitty. Especially when there were much cuter and sweeter ones that would be happy to love her. Charlie only shook her head, adamant in her decision. The mother tilted her head before asking just why she had chosen the bitty. Boss, and she called him.

'Because he's scary. And if he's scary, then if that mean man comes back, he can scare him away. Like a boogey man.'

Silence was her answer. The elders glancing at one another, some in understanding and others in uncertainty. It wasn't until Charlie squeaked in surprise at a sudden weight upon her head that they focused fully on her again. Standing upon the child's head appearing quite bored and bothered was the spiky and scary bitty, gloved hands upon his hips. He could easily keep anyone away from the broken Charlie, he said. No one else there could ever stand a chance in deterring a human from his charge as he could.

 _His_ charge.

Although weary, the grandparents consented as they knew that now, neither Charlie nor 'Boss' would leave the center without the other. The mother simply smiled and led them back to the front, Charlie waving goodbye to the other bitty's while Boss slid down to her good shoulder and perched there. Using her braided hair as a tether. She only smiled and giggled when he gave it a huffy tug.

With the papers signed and supplies handed over, the mother looked to Charlie one last time and asked if she would give the sharp bitty a name, with Boss's approval of course. Charlie hummed and asked her new companion if he would like a name. He only grunted and looked away, appearing utterly bored and uncaring. This only received a grin before the broken child looked back to the mother and nodded. She had the perfect name.

'Paladin. His name is Paladin.'

**Author's Note:**

> This is, at the moment, a one chapter story, BUT, it is highly possible that more will be written in the future. If you would like to see more of Charlie and Paladin, just let me know! Charlie and Paladin belong to me, but the wonder that is BittyBones and the Boss Bitty belongs to Momma Cry from Fucken-Crybaby on tumblr!


End file.
